Most UK government departments have spent little or nothing with social media platform X since July 2024 following an unpublished 2023 evaluation by the Cabinet Office. But the Department for Education has bucked the trend, spending £27,118.

Education minister Olivia Bailey said the department and its agencies spent £4,834.80 with X in the nine months between July 1, 2024, and the company's acquisition by xAI on March 28, 2025. The department then upped this to £22,283.32 over roughly ten months to January 19.

The money went on "sector comms and awareness," [1]Bailey said in a written parliamentary answer to Conservative MP Jack Rankin. The Register has contacted the department to ask why it has continued to spend relatively significant amounts with X.

[2]

Six departments have spent nothing with X since July 2024, ministers said in response to a series of written parliamentary questions from Jack Rankin and Peter Fortune, another Conservative MP. "Paid advertising on X was suspended in April 2023 following a Safe Framework assessment," [3]justice minister Jake Richards replied . "X is currently used only for organic (non-paid) content to communicate policies and public services. No expenditure has been made by the Ministry of Justice with X since July 2024."

[4]

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Ministers in the Cabinet Office, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and HM Treasury said their departments had spent nothing with X over the period while the Home Office said this was the case for its communications directorate.

At seven other departments, ministers said they had spent relatively small amounts on the platform's monitoring services rather than paid advertising. The Department for Transport spent £783.30 on X Premium and X Premium+ services, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spent just £9.60 in August 2024 "to use the livestreaming functionality available with X Premium at a departmental event," [6]according to minister Dame Angela Eagle .

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Many ministers mentioned a Safe Framework assessment by the Cabinet Office's Government Communication Service carried out in April 2023. In a [8]written answer last July , Labour peer Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent told Liberal Democrat Lord Pack that "Safe is the single, comprehensive framework" used by the government for such assessments, which take place "when there are significant platform updates." She said that since the most recent assessment in April 2023, X has only been used for unpaid communications activity.

[9]UK to properly probe xAI to test if its revolting robo-smut generator broke the law

[10]X marks the raid: French cops swoop on Musk's Paris ops

[11]EU looking into Elon Musk's X after Grok produces deepfake sex images

[12]Ofcom keeps X under the microscope despite Grok 'nudify' fix

In December, the Cabinet Office [13]refused a Freedom of Information request [PDF] to publish the Safe assessment of X on the grounds that it would undermine the formulation and development of government policy. It did say X had most recently been assessed during 2025, suggesting a review during the second half of last year. Officials had most recently assessed TikTok and YouTube in 2025, Reddit in 2022, and Facebook and Instagram in 2018, while Bluesky had not been assessed.

Some local authorities including [14]Devon County Council and [15]Southampton City Council have stopped posting and monitoring their X accounts.

Oxfordshire County Council and the county's district councils have said they will [16]close accounts completely over the next few months.

"In recent months, we have seen that X has become less effective as an engagement channel and has contributed to a less safe online environment for local communities," the county council said in a statement in late January, adding it was "deeply concerned about the rise in online hate speech and abuse targeting women and girls." ®

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[1] https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-01-19/106861/

[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aY2y0RlWRpXa-EiSsOkfygAAAFE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[3] https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-01-19/106872/

[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aY2y0RlWRpXa-EiSsOkfygAAAFE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aY2y0RlWRpXa-EiSsOkfygAAAFE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[6] https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-01-19/106863/

[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aY2y0RlWRpXa-EiSsOkfygAAAFE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[8] https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-07-14/HL9441

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/04/uk_spain_social_media_regulation/

[10] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/03/french_police_raid_x/

[11] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/26/ec_open_new_investigation_into/

[12] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/15/ofcom_grok_probe/

[13] https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/safe_framework_review_of_x/response/3236647/attach/html/3/2025%2012%2003%20FOI2025%2017952%20Response.pdf.html

[14] https://x.com/DevonCC

[15] https://x.com/SouthamptonCC/status/1892227654843019515

[16] https://x.com/OxfordshireCC/status/2015738688357974119

[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/